There are many reasons one could learn Latin. It is often learned by Catholics for religious reasons, by scientists to understand the etymology of technical terms, and by the thinking man to understand the classics. The truth is that it is not something one can do without. For the vast majority of the first millennium and a half of Western classics were written in Latin, and cannot be fully appreciated without comprehension of this language.

There is much to read in Latin. While many Roman works were written therein, such as the engineering treatises of Vitruvius, other societies used Latin as well. From the works of Thomas Aquinas to Adam of Bremen’s account of Leif Erikson’s journey to Vinland, the great bulk of Western culture was once written in that language. Thus those who learn Latin broaden their perspectives more than the students of any other language. All of these works are in the public domain, and available freely on the internet. Project Gutenberg is a good place to start. There is also levity in Latin. In the High Middle Ages, the entirety of student life was conducted in the language, including off-color anecdotes and drinking songs, as the Carmina Burana attest. Throughout the ages, college humor springs eternal.

Alphabets define the boundaries of civilization. Where the Roman alphabet is seen, so is the Latin language and the Catholic religion. In such realms, knowledge of the Latin classics was at one point considered a prerequisite for entry into cultured life. This provided an intellectual unity throughout the West unparalleled in later centuries.

For the neophyte, I strongly recommend Henle’s Latin Reader, traditionally read by schoolboys at around the age of fourteen. As such you learn many interesting vocabulary words like scutum and gladius. It is not tedious like Wheelock’s but organizes its grammar lessons around short action-oriented excerpts from Caesar’s Travels. Upon completion of this volume, I strongly recommend that you read that and De Bello Gallico. The prose is terse, bracing and highly informative. Who else writes sentences like vene, vidi, vici?

Catholics will find this level of Latin sufficient to read St. Jerome’s Vulgate, the first Latin translation of the Bible as well. It bears noting that most of this version of the New Testament, while a translation from the original Greek and Aramaic, was written at a level understandable to the average resident of the Roman Empire. The Apostle certainly knew what they were doing.

Works like the Aeneid represent the highest flowering of the Latin language. They use irregular grammatical structures and a level of verbal expression far beyond what readers will encounter even in English, and are some of the most beautiful works in Western civilization. They are certainly well worth the effort.

Perhaps the greatest aspect of the Latin language is the fraternity it provides between the ages. He who masters Latin becomes a member of a brotherhood with members hailing from countless centuries. Those who enter count neither Caesar, nor Augustine, or even Newton as strangers. Indeed, newly minted Westerners from across the ages would adopt the culture of the Empire with a fervor, even to the extent of taking Roman names, as Swedes and Germans did in the Medieval and Renaissance eras, and American freedmen would in the nineteenth century. For it is those intrepid few who master Latin who can truly consider themselves heirs to the West. It is not hard to become one of their number. Will you?